Ctrl. Alt. Delete
by DynnaChae
Summary: There's a malfunction in the system


She gazes down at the busy city.   
  
All the people so oblivious to the truth. My truth. I am the truth. It's a prefabricated world that I've thought up in my mind and with a simple three key combination I could end it all. I am god. Iwakura Lain. My love of my creation turns to disgust and hatred for them. They're just wasting my time. Come Wired Lain. Come and discipline these disobedient creations. Make sure they suffer for their crime.  
  
Ha ha ha ha ha!  
  
"Lain! Lain snap out of it! The bell rang let's go!" A red haired girl shook Lain out of her trance.  
  
"Huh? Oh Sorry Niya. I was thinking about something." Lain looked up at the empty class. It was so silent in there. The sun's beams shone on part of the map. Against the wall sat a dark coat totally throwing off the brightness and cheer of the room. Lain stared at the coat for quite some time before Niya called out to her again.  
  
"Lain we're going to be late for Phys-ed!" Niya threw her books down on the table and held Lain's shoulders. "Are you sick? I'll walk you to the nurse?"  
  
Lain placed her hands over Niya's tense hands. She smiled slightly and then stood up. "I'm fine Niya. Let's go before coach makes us run laps."  
  
Niya smiled and picked up the tattered old books "I don't get you Lain. But you're cool."  
  
Niya and Lain walked down the hallway towards the girls' locker room. It was unusually silent in there. Usually you'd be greeted with useless gossip and giggling once you got halfway down the hall. Lain figured that they were already late. She turned back to tell Niya that they should hurry. "Niya, we..."  
  
Niya was frozen in place in the doorway of their history class.  
  
Lain frowned and continued to the locker room. As she suspected, all the girls were frozen in place. Some were pulling shirts over their heads while some were frozen while giggling. Other girls were standing around the drink machine and the rest could be seen walking out to the field. Lain wheeled around and walked back into the history room. She approached the black coat in the shadowed corner of the room and scowled.  
  
"Why?" Lain sighed  
  
The coat fell to the ground. As it ruffled around the sky and the classroom became dark. A screen saver flashed in the background. The coat disappeared and a man took it's place. "Your program failed. There has been a fatal error. This program will close in ten seconds. Your program failed. There has been a fatal error. This program will close in ten seconds."  
  
Silence  
  
Lain looked around then looked the man in the eyes "Then close it."  
  
"Everything will be terminated. Internal error has destroyed vital executable files. Computer will crash in five seconds."  
  
"THEN LET IT CRASH!"   
  
The world shattered. Lain was left standing in a white room. Everything was white except for a shadowed corner. There was activity over there. Lain made her way to the corner. A young girl sat there. She sat in a ball and cried in fear. Around her humming could be heard. It was the humming from the power lines. As Lain reached over to touch the girl static ran up her arm and she became engulfed in it. Pulling the girl to her feet they said nothing but walked towards the power lines which had now replaced the white room.   
  
"Why?"  
  
The girl pushed Lain's hands off of her "Why not?"  
  
"Wired Niya"  
  
"As if there were only you. You think you're so powerful Lain!" Niya glared into Lain's eyes.  
  
"I could end it all"  
  
"Why don't you jump off a building! Perhaps then people would start caring!" Niya threw her hands out at her side.  
  
"I'd still be connected." Lain walked towards her "We're all connected. No matter what."  
  
Niya ran off in the opposite direction. The world collapsed and Lain was back in the corner of the history room. She looked up. Everything was going in reverse. The children filed back into the room in reverse and resumed their individual seats. Class resumed backwards and all but the clock played in reverse. Lain walked to the front of the class and pulled the chair out. The other Lain sat at the table aimlessly gazing out the window at the empty courtyard.  
  
Everything has to be reset. Lain placed herself in the hologram of herself and waited for the right time. As the Sensei bactracked out of the class with the class following him Lain pulled her pocket Navi out of it's little compartment in the desk and held it up.   
  
"It's time to go home. It's time to start over."  
  
Lain pushed the door of her house closed. Her mother stood in the doorway of the kitchen staring at Lain. She turned around, saying nothing, and resumed working in the kitchen.   
  
"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep Beeeeeeeeeeeep" Lain's sister sat in her room with her pajamas still on humming and beeping while facing a shadowed corner of her room.   
  
Lain finally made it to her room.   
  
"Hello Lain."  
  
"Hello Navi"  
  
"What can I do for you Lain?"  
  
"Reset"  
  
"Are you sure Lain?"  
  
"RESET!"  
  
"Please enter the correct combination."  
  
Lain gazed out her window one last time. She listened to the humming that started to give her comfort.   
  
"Navi," Lain sat back "Control, Alt, Delete."  
  
Everything went black.  
  
  
  



End file.
